‘The Walking Dead’ Producer Gale Anne Hurd on Where the Zombie Series is Going

“The Walking Dead,” AMC’s newest addition to its roster of scripted programming, began with a bang and ended on a similarly high note. The zombie drama, based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series, scared up 6 million viewers for the finale “TS-19″ on Sunday — the highest episode rating ever for an AMC series. (As a point of comparison, AMC’s critically-acclaimed drama “Mad Men” averaged 2.9 million viewers an episode for its fourth season.) It’s no surprise then that the series has been renewed for a second season.

We spoke to producer Gale Anne Hurd about what to expect when the show returns next year.

AMC has already ordered a second season of “Walking Dead,” but it sounds like production won’t start up again until next spring. How do you guys plan to keep audiences engaged and thinking about the show until it returns?

Throughout the whole process, AMC has been great and working with Constantine Nasr, our behind-the-scenes producer, to produce the EPK [electronic press kit] and posting webisodes and “making-of” sort of material. I’m sure that will continue. Obviously, the DVD will be released in the spring and once we start up production again, we’ll continue to put new, behind-the-scenes material on the web as well.

Last week, it was reported that “Walking Dead” Executive Producer Frank Darabont had fired all of his writers, a report you later denied. Were you surprised by how quickly the story spread?

I don’t understand why when a story that’s not been fact-checked comes out nowadays, it’s still taken as gospel. No one checked with us. You don’t know going into TV shows if you’re going to get picked up; that’s just the way this business is. People can’t commit two or three years of their lives for a show that might get canceled, so they set up other projects. You have to, and I don’t think that that’s something that the casual reader or viewer is going to be aware of. So there are quite a few writers that we plan to have back — it’s going to depend on their availability. Obviously Robert and Frank are back, and they are truly the two people who made this season happen, with great support from everyone in the writers room. Also, when you have a season of only six episodes, that’s not enough to support yourself, so everyone was working on other material.

How far ahead have you mapped out the second season? Was that a part of the discussions when you were planning for the first season?

For the first season, we talked about how it would be about getting to Atlanta and Rick reuniting with his family, and then getting on the road again. Within that context, we wanted to make sure we captured certain key events from the comic book, but also surprise people who were comic book devotees with new material they hadn’t seen before. That was something very important to Robert from the very beginning, that the series wouldn’t just be a panel-by-panel adaptation.

When Frank and Robert had their initial meetings this past February and March, they definitely discussed new characters and new paths for old characters. We realized that for viewers unfamiliar with the comic book, they were bound to have questions, and knowing that in the comic book, there aren’t really any answers, we figured where else would these characters go if not the CDC [Centers for Disease Control].

Things get pretty bleak, to say the least, in Kirkman’s series. How you judge (and plan to judge) if a certain storyline is too brutal for cable TV?

The story is pretty dark — but at the same time, we look at the whole thing as a balancing act between hope and despair. That contrast was certainly a key element to the finale, such as the difference between the people who ultimately give up and those who won’t give up. That’s also why it’s so important to have larger than life characters, such as Glenn, from the comic book, or Darryl, who’s new to the roster.

There’s been some chatter that the character of Michonne, who first shows up in the comic books wielding a samurai sword, will be introduced next season. Can you confirm that, and also, how do you accurately pronounce her name?

I actually asked Robert that once, and he said ‘Michone’ or ‘Michon’; either way is fine. He’s from Kentucky so he talks with an accent anyway. We’re very excited about her, but I can’t confirm or deny, but she’s certainly a favorite of ours as well as the fans. That’s all I’ll say.

Why do you think zombies continue to be in vogue?

Zombies are certainly in a resurgent phase. Many of the zombie movies that have come out recently have been excellent, so you have continued enthusiasm for them. But also, because the world seems like it’s on the brink of something catastrophic — we’re in an ongoing global financial crisis and terrible natural disasters are taking place — most of the people I speak with feel great uncertainly about tomorrow, next week, and next year. Because our characters survive this zombie apocalypse, viewers may be identifying with them, their will to survive, and their belief that society can be recreated anew. That message is connecting with people.

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